Criminal Law

Criminal Law: Problems, Statutes, and Cases combines effective, innovative teaching methods, such as the use of problems and visual materials, with cases, including recent opinions on bias intimidation, possession of child pornography, threatening speech on social media, and theft of computer code. Key features include:

• A problem methodology. The book incorporates problem methodology with extensive use of problems, many based on recent cases.
• A statutory approach. A primary goal of the book is teaching skills in interpreting and, to a lesser degree, writing statutes.
• Visual materials. Visual materials include: (1) diagrammed crimes; (2) graphic exercises, such as having students create a timeline to compare and contrast various tests for the conduct element in attempt; and (3) video clip recommendations from a wide range of movies and TV shows such as The Wire and Breaking Bad.
• New cases and problems come straight from the news—the killing of George Floyd, the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse, the pardon of Roger Stone, the making of COVID-19 threats, the debate over the future of policing—and are designed to provoke a vigorous and rigorous conversation about what criminal law is and what it should be.

Core Knowledge for Lawyers content for this book will be available in Fall 2025.